Whitehorse

Leave No Bridge Unburned - Very Good, Based on 3 Critics

American Songwriter - 80Based on rating 4/5

80

If you’re looking for a solid sense of Americana, sometimes you need to leave the country and go north. That’s one lesson we’ve learned from the Band, Neil Young, Colin Lindon, Blue Rodeo and other Canadians that have made their mark on American music. Add another name to that list with Whitehorse. The married Canadian duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland has played in each other’s groups for years before finally partnering in 2010 as Whitehorse.

Given their intimate relationship that comes with cohabitation, husband/wife combos are frequently accompanied by a unique yin and yang. No wonder then that Leave No Bridge Unburned, the third album by the Canadian duo led by multi-talented spouses Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, is a decidedly dark affair, one marked by raging rhythms and a somewhat stealth-like demeanor. Nevertheless, the Polaris Prize-nominated pair seem fond of purveying their angular melodies with a razor-sharp edge.

When Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland merged their solo careers (and lives) in 2010 to form Whitehorse, it seemed meant to be: bringing together her folk subtlety with his bluesy grit made for one dynamic duo. Both excellent guitarists and storytellers, they occasionally still came across as individual artists in the early days. That's no longer the case on their second full-length, which seamlessly fuses their strengths to striking effect.